Flirt
by Heroes Fly-Minho's Hero Limps
Summary: "He knew he'd screwed up when he heard a voice that was definitely NOT Cecil's. "I'd say it's going very well so far, but I didn't know we were at the pet-name stage, Carlos." Carlos went very still. Oh shit."


-This is a really random ship, I know, but the idea came and I had to write it. This is sort of a prequel to a Kevin/Carlos/Cecil relationship. I hope you enjoy it!-

Carlos didn't realize his mistake until it was too late. And once he had realized it, he decided that Dana Cardinal was to blame.

There is an explanation for this and it is laid out like this: a short while ago, Night Vale and Desert Bluffs had found themselves merged. Forcibly so. Night Vale mayor, Dana, had insisted on it and now, she wanted all of them to find a way to get along. Was it working? No, absolutely not. It didn't help that every Desert Bluffs person was a double of a Night Vale civilian with strange eyes and sharpened teeth. It was causing quite a few problems. But anyway. Back to Carlos' problem.

His problem was that a certain Desert Bluffs radio host had been permitted back into Night Vale as well. And that certain radio host kept visiting the Night Vale radio station on a near-daily basis. And that certain radio host looked a lot like another radio host when viewed at through a window to the Night Vale Community Radio doors.

In other words, Carlos glimpsed a tall, lean-limbed figure inside and instantly thought it was Cecil.

That was his first mistake.

His second was bursting through the doors and running up to the shadowy figure.

"Cecil!" he cheered, and just as the figure turned, he flung his arms around his neck. Cecil stumbled a little, but Carlos felt hands catch him at the waist and grinned into the crook of Cecil's shoulder. He would never get over how incredible Cecil really was, all black limbs and floating shadows of ink for hair. "How's your morning, honey-voiced honey?" he asked, soft and happy into Cecil's ear.

He knew he'd screwed up when he heard a voice that was definitely NOT Cecil's. "I'd say it's going very well so far, but I didn't know we were at the pet-name stage, Carlos."

Carlos went very still. Oh _shit_.

Jerking his head back, he yelped as he came face-to-face with burning yellow irises. " _Kevin_?!"

Kevin's mouth split into a toothy grin, crinkling the corners of his eyes. The second pair beneath the first had been stitched shut, but they still creased at the corners too. "Hi!" he exclaimed cheerily. "You're in a good mood today, aren't you, Carlos?"

"No I'm not!" Carlos answered, shaking his head. They were pressed together from head to toe, Kevin's body as lithe as Cecil's. Carlos felt a furious blush crawling up his neck.

"Oh, but you must be," Kevin argued.

"Well, I'm not anymore and I just remembered that I really have to go so—!" Not even finishing his sentence, Carlos snatched his arms from around Kevin's neck and made to push away from him.

To his utter shock, Kevin's arms looped firmly around his waist and pulled him in close. Like Cecil, Kevin had two pairs of inky arms with long, sharp-tipped fingers. As the lower pair wrapped around Carlos' middle, he draped one across Carlos' shoulder and the other fiddled with a strand of black hair. "You're no fun," Kevin complained, voice little more than a coo.

"I don't think I want to be 'fun,'" Carlos returned coldly. He planted his hands on Kevin's shoulders, but couldn't push him off. "Let go."

"No," Kevin chirped.

"Kevin, _let go._ "

"Nope."

"Kevin."

"Carlos."

Carlos blinked, taken aback by how Kevin practically purred his name. His voice was different from Cecil's, higher, but still just as silken. Smooth as cobra tails and paired with the deadly smirk now hiking up the side of his mouth. "I don't think I wanna let my little scientist go yet," he crooned, devious. He leaned in, strands of shadowy hair drifting down across hooded eyes.

"Don't," Carlos tried, as their foreheads touched.

"Don't what?" Kevin asked innocently.

The hands at Carlos' back wrinkled the fabric of his red-and-black flannel and he shuddered. Kevin was so close, he could see the different shades of amber in his eyes. Carlos didn't want this, he only wanted Cecil, but god, Kevin was warm and he smelled good, like cinnamon... "Don't—kiss me," he stuttered awkwardly.

Abruptly, Kevin drew his head back, eyebrows rising. "Who said anything about kissing you?" he asked, voice dropping that velvety tone it'd had earlier.

Carlos' jaw dropped. What sick game was he playing? "But weren't you... I mean..."

"Yes, Carlos?"

"You're playing dumb," Carlos accused.

Kevin cocked his head, as though oblivious to the fact that he was still holding Carlos in a deserted hallway. "What do you mean?" he asked with deliberate slowness. Carlos caught the gleam in his eyes and glared back at him. Damn him for being so insufferably attractive all of the sudden. A smile quirked Kevin's lips, crooked as sin.

Suddenly, a much different but very familiar voice yanked Carlos back to reality. "Kevin! What the hell are you doing?"

Carlos took one look at Cecil's angry face poking out from a doorway down the hall and nearly had an aneurysm. "Ohmygod, um," he babbled, shoving out of Kevin's arms. He didn't stop until he was against the opposite wall. "That," he squeaked, pointing at Kevin, "was an accident."

Confusion flickered across Cecil's violet eyes. "How...?"

"I thought he was you," Carlos mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Because we're doubles!" Kevin supplied helpfully, clasping a pair of hands behind his back while the other two adjusted his tie.

Cecil rolled his eyes. "Really? I hadn't realized," he deadpanned. Kevin just grinned brightly back at him, evidently missing the sarcasm. Cecil's gaze flicked away from him to land on Carlos and soften. He edged a step away from the door. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Carlos answered with half of an affectionate smile. "You have to get back in there."

"Yeah, but if you need me..."

"Ceec, don't worry about me. Go start your show."

Cecil's shoulders lost some of their tension and he nodded. "Okay. Okay, um." With a quick glance over his shoulder, he darted forward and kissed Carlos' forehead. It was soft and gentle and sent delightful shivers down Carlos' spine. "Love you," Cecil murmured into Carlos' hair, a smile curving up his lips.

"I love you, too," Carlos whispered back and his fingers hooked themselves idly around Cecil's purple-and-black striped tie. He tried to ignore the way Kevin's eyes were trained on both of them, clouded with some unknown emotion.

Cecil sent an irritated frown Kevin's way. "And what're you still doing here?"

Dropping the strange wanting look, Kevin laced all of his hands behind his back. "I always come to visit in case you want me on your show!" he explained happily.

"Great." Cecil trudged back toward the open door, casting a last glance toward Carlos.

"So does that mean I can—?"

"No."

The door swung shut with an air of finality.

Carlos immediately turned and strode for the front doors. He wasn't about to spend another minute in here. He was still blushing like a lunatic and it wasn't just because of Cecil. He nearly tripped over the floor when Kevin's voice called out cheekily behind him. "Don't you wanna finish our conversation, Carlos?"

"Nope!" Carlos called back. Pushing open the glass double doors, he disappeared outside without another word. He really needed to get back to the lab. Run some scientific tests. Figure out if it was unhealthy for someone to be attracted to their boyfriend's double as well as their boyfriend. Which it probably wasn't.

With his favorite purple headphones snug around his ears, Cecil took a moment before his show to bury his face in his hands. "Oh my gods," he groaned into them. "When is he gonna leave?" It was infuriating to have Kevin dropping in at the radio station on a near-daily basis. It was also infuriating to have him hitting on Cecil's boyfriend in the middle of the hall. _Although they did look kinda cute like that_ , he thought and then wanted to kick himself for thinking such things. Oh boy, he was in trouble now.

From outside the window of his recording booth, he could see Kevin grinning and using a fingertip to draw a heart in the air.

Oh yes, Cecil was definitely in trouble.


End file.
